


Welcome to the Family

by dazedwriter



Series: I'll Make You So Happy Here [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Ficlets, M/M, Short Stories, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:48:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dazedwriter/pseuds/dazedwriter
Summary: David has been waiting for this day for as long as he can remember. Today's the day they're finally adopting a dog.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: I'll Make You So Happy Here [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868929
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> This is the start of a series of short stories centering on David and Patricks domestic life post marriage. Designed to be read individually, or whatever suits you. Fics will be individually rated in the notes section at the beginning of each fic. 
> 
> Thank you so much to my wonderful beta diamond729. Fabulous as always!! 
> 
> This one is G rated. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

David woke Patrick up with a jolt, poking him lightly in his side. 

“What time is it?” asked Patrick sleepily, peering over at an excited David sitting next to him, completely dressed. 

“Eight o’clock! Time to get up!” David replied, unusually chipper for this time in the morning. 

“I knew you’d be excited, but I didn’t think you’d be _this_ excited, this is really early for you.” Patrick reached over to drag David down to cuddle for a few more minutes.

David pulled away as he tried to resist his husband’s charm and warm embrace “Patrick! We are getting a dog today. TODAY! I have wanted this for as long as I can remember.” 

“I know, I know, I’m up.” Patrick insisted as he burrowed deeper under the covers.

“You don’t look up. In fact you look very much still in bed to me. I’ve got a surprise for you in the kitchen, come and see.” David leaned over and pulled the comforter down enough to expose Patrick’s face and David peppered his cheeks and nose and forehead and closed eyes with smacky little kisses to both encourage and annoy him.

“Ok, ok, I’m getting up, I promise.” Patrick said as he twisted his head to the side to get away from the attack and then grinned as he sat up and pulled David in for a quick kiss. They started down the stairs together and the smell of pancakes intensified with each step they took. Patrick turned, coming face to face with David. “Did you cook breakfast?” Patrick asked.

“Yep.”

“You _have_ been busy this morning.” Patrick replied, making his way to the kitchen. He passed the new dog bed, food and water dish and toys, sitting so neatly in the living room that they had purchased the day before. They had gone out and purchased the basics to get them started. David had been like a kid in a candy store, Patrick had never seen him like that before and found his enthusiasm endearing.

The table was set perfectly, pancakes already on their plates, and a pot of coffee on the stove. Patrick pulled David in for a kiss. 

“Thank you for this.” he said as he pulled back. “This is excellent.”

“It’s a big day.” said David, motioning for Patrick to sit. “Eat up Patrick!” David got the coffee pot off the stove and poured two cups, passing one to Patrick. 

“These are so good, David.” said Patrick, devouring the pancakes in front of him. 

David sat down opposite him smiling. “Thank you. Blueberry and ricotta pancakes felt right for a special occasion.” 

“They really are. How early did you get up?” 

“Umm, about 6:30.” David responded nonchalantly, in between shovelling bites of pancake in his mouth. 

“Wow. I’m shocked.”

“You shouldn’t be, you know I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” David grinned. 

Patrick pretended to seriously consider David’s early morning behavior, “True. I guess I just didn’t think you’d be that excited that you’d get up before daylight. This might be a David Rose world record.” 

“Aren’t _you_ excited?” David asked.

“Of course, but right now I’m more amazed that my husband woke up at 6:30am without being coerced, threatened, or harassed.”

David laughed and replied in a fake haughty voice, “Well don’t get used to it. And never underestimate my ability to surprise you.” 

Patrick reached over and touched David’s arm earnestly, “Every day is a surprise with you, David Rose.”

~~~~~~~~

“Ok so we know that we are hoping to find a medium sized dog, that doesn’t shed right?” Patrick asked as he pulled out of the driveway. It was 9:30am. They had cleaned the kitchen together and David made the bed while Patrick showered and dressed and now they were making the 30 minute trip to the dog shelter in hopes of finding their new family member. 

“Yes! How will we pick a name though?”

“Chances are it might already have a name considering we are getting it from a shelter.”

“Yes, but if that name is incorrect, we will have to change it.”

“We can’t change a dog’s name, David, the poor thing will get confused!”

“But if it has some _incorrect_ dog name, like Benji, we _have_ to change it. I can’t run around a park calling ‘Benji!’”

“David, I can’t see you running anywhere, let alone in a park with a dog.”

David chuckled. “True. But still, no Benjis”

“Ok sure, what would be a _correct_ name then for you? Givenchy? Coz I’m drawing the line at that.”

David scoffed “Givenchy? No! A dog’s name should never have more than two syllables, I read about it in a book ages ago.”

“You read about it?” Patrick asked, looking over at David quizzically. Maybe David was more prepared for this than he thought. 

“Yes, back when I was a teenager.” said David, waving his hand nonchalantly.

“And you remembered that fact?”

“Patrick, what have I told you, I’ve been wanting this my whole life. Yes, I remembered it. Dogs work best with two syllable words. More than that is often too much for them. So if you want your dog to respond best to you, one- or two- syllable names are best.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I really am learning things about you today.” Patrick smiled, speeding up as they hit the highway. “Twenty minutes until we get there, David. “We still haven’t decided how we will pick a name. What names do you like?”

“Well I have thought a lot about this, and if it’s a boy, Freesia.”

“Freesia?! For a boy?!” Patrick exclaimed.

“I find there to be a delicate masculinity to the name Freesia, Patrick. Don’t you think?”

“Uh, not quite. What other names have you got?”

“Noten? After the designer Dries van Noten of course.”

Patrick shook his head in disagreement.

“Fine, Helmut? Again, after Helmut Lang, fashion designer.”

“David, no we’re not going to call our dog Helmut. I’ll think of a bicycle helmet every time I say it.” Patrick laughed. “I think we are going to just have to hope it comes with a correct name then. If it doesn’t, we will just have to work something out.”

“Coming up with a name is harder than I thought.” David sunk into the chair, looking out the window. “I guess our number one goal is to find the best dog. That will adore me. And like you. And doesn’t shed. I will not have dog hair all over our house and definitely not on my clothes.” 

“Got it,” Patrick chuckled, looking over at David. “We’ll find the right one.”

“Good.” said David, reaching over and touching Patrick’s thigh lightly, “I’m so excited for this.” 

“I know, David, I know. Me, too.”

The rest of the drive flew by with gentle banter about life with the dog, who was going to pick up its poo, who’d be responsible for feeding it, where the dog would sleep (on their bed would be _very incorrect_ according to David), where they’d put the doggy door so it could come and go as it pleased. Of course, they had already discussed this in depth when they were deciding on whether to get a dog, but it was just fun, domesticated banter, the type David never dreamed he would ever have with someone until Patrick walked into his life. 

They pulled up at the dog shelter, with David bounding out the door as quick as he could. “Let’s go get our new best friend!” Patrick quickly locked the car and caught up to him as he was entering the doors. The sound of dogs barking filled their ears as they walked in. 

The lady at the front desk had a name tag that said “Erica, Volunteer” and she smiled widely as they walked up to the counter, greeting them.

“Hi” David smiled back, “we’re here to find a dog.”

“Well you have come to the right place. Have either of you owned a dog before?” 

“I have.” Patrick piped up. “Family dog when I was growing up.”

“I have not.” replied David.

“Do you have any idea what you’re looking for? We mostly have mixed breeds here. They’re either abandoned or are found lost and no one has come to pick them up.”

David’s eyes softened “Can we take them all home Patrick?”

Patrick rolled his eyes and slid his arm around David’s waist, “Sure David, that sounds great.” as Erica chuckled.

She continued ”We all want to take them all home! Do you know what size dog you are after?”

“Medium-sized preferably.” David said. 

“Well we have a few medium-sized dogs here that you can look at.”

“Do you have any that are non-shedding?” David asked.

“We do, yes.”

As Erica led them to the area where the dogs were held, David made eye contact with Patrick widening his eyes and mouthing “OH MY GOD.” Patrick squeezed his arm and they both smiled.

The sound of dog barks got louder the closer they got and David’s eyes grew wider with each step. Patrick couldn’t help but watch David, the excitement growing on his face was delightful. Erica walked them through some double doors, out to rows of pens, each containing a dog. At the front of each pen there was an information card about the dog. 

“Here we have the smaller dogs, but if you continue following me, we’ll get to the medium sized dogs.”

“Oh look, David, that one looks like you.” Patrick pointed at a small black and white dog, wolfing down the food in its bowl.

“Oh ha ha very funny.” David nudged Patrick playfully.

They both followed her, reaching the pens where hopefully their new family member was waiting. There were 4 medium sized dogs looking slightly forlorn at their current housing situation. David looked at them, before looking at Patrick, with puppy dog eyes “Patrick…”

“We are not getting four dogs, David.” 

“But look at their sad faces!” 

“I bet at least two of them are big-time shedders.” Patrick pointed out to keep David on track.

David pouted and started reading the information card for the dog in front of him. _Max, male, black mixed breed, approx 5 years old. Medium energy level. Love chasing balls._ David bent down, gently patting Max. As he pulled his hand away, a fistful of hair came with it. “Ohh sorry Max, you’re not for us. You shed too much.” He stood up and turned around. Patrick was bent down patting the dog behind.

“David look at this one. It loves me.”

David bent down to join him “Well of course it does, everyone loves you.”

A tan colored dog was looking up at them with soulful eyes. Its fur wasn’t as soft as Max’s but very little hair came away when touched. 

“Ah yes, Julia has a wire-haired breed in her, so she doesn’t shed much at all. Very easy to maintain.” 

David read the information card. _Julia, female, tan mixed breed, approx 4 years old. Medium energy level. Loves humans. Hates cats._

David looked to Patrick. “This. She is perfect. This is what I want.”

“Should we at least look at the other two dogs first?”

David looked to the other two. “Yeah probably, but look at how much she loves you!” gesturing to Julia who was still seemingly captivated by Patrick.

Patrick laughed “We have come all this way, we may as well see the other two.”

David sighed, knowing that Patrick was right. He walked over to the other two dogs, one was asleep in the far back of the pen, showing little interest in anything. The other was hesitant of David. Too hesitant. 

“Ok then” said Patrick, I think that rules out those two then. “Are we able to get Julia out of the pen?” Patrick asked Erica. 

“Of course. Give me a moment and I’ll go get a leash.”

Patrick turned to David. “Julia seems so sweet.”

“She does and I don’t mind the name either, you know how much I Julia Stiles.”

Patrick chuckled “That I do. However, it doesn’t fit into your two-syllables-or-less rule.”

“I know” sighed David “but we can always find a nickname for her.” He squeezed Patrick’s shoulders. “I’m so excited to be doing this with you.”

“Me too, David.” Patrick leaned in to kiss him briefly. 

Erica came back with a leash. “Ok lets get her out. No one has shown any interest in her in a while, so she will be so excited to get some exercise.” 

“Oh,” David’s expression softened. “poor thing.”

Julia bolted out of the pen as quick as she could, as far as the leash would let her. 

“She’s pretty good on a leash.” Erica explained “she doesn’t pull too much. Here you go,” and she held the leash out for one of them to take.

David reached for the leash and allowed Julia to lead the way back up the hall. She kept looking back to Patrick walking behind them, eventually pausing to wait for him to catch up. 

“Patrick, look, she loves you!”

They reached the double doors and turned left, reaching a small enclosed yard. ”You’re welcome to let her off the leash in here and get to know her a little better.”

David looked at Patrick, so excited. He walked straight into the yard, making sure the gate was closed behind him before he let her off the leash. She immediately ran to the end of the yard and back. 

“It must feel so good to stretch her legs.” said Patrick, watching her run. She ran straight back to David and Patrick running straight into David’s legs. 

“Wow, Julia” he squatted to her level, her eyes looking up at him so wide. She leaned up and gave him one small lick to his nose.

“See David, she likes you too.” Patrick said.

David smiled, standing up again as Julia started sniffing Patrick’s legs. David looked down at his own pant legs where Julia had rubbed against him. He couldn’t see any dog hair on his jeans. 

“Look Patrick! No fur!” motioning to his legs. “She’s perfect.” David wrapped his arm around Patrick’s shoulder, squeezing him tight. “Have we just found our new family member?”

“I think so. She seems pretty perfect. And a medium energy level dog too. Seems perfect for someone who normally doesn’t wake before 10.” 

“Hey!” said David, playfully swatting him. “I’d be upset if it wasn’t so true.” 

Patrick smiled, pulling him in for a quick hug. “I can’t believe we found a dog so quickly.” Patrick pulled out of the hug and they both turned to watch Julia, who was intently sniffing at a spot on the ground. “She’s going to fit in perfectly with us. We just need to ask Erica what we do now.” 

“Agreed. But until she comes back, let’s play!” David bent down and picked up a tennis ball off the ground, tossing it to the other side of the yard. Julia stood there, watching where the tennis ball had gone, but not moving.

“Guess she isn’t into ball sports.” Patrick said. 

“Let me try tug-o-war. This rope is filthy but I’ll touch it for her.”

“She should be flattered, you wouldn’t do that for me.”

“You’re probably right, honey.” 

Julia was instantly excited, grabbing the rope from David and tugging hard. “Geez she’s strong!” exclaimed David “I’ve got my work cut out for me.” David pulled and pulled, not wanting to give up too easily. “We are definitely going to have to buy a rope toy for her, Patrick. She absolutely loves this!” Before he knew it, David was flat on his back. One hard tug had made his knees slip out from under him, and a very excited Julia stood over his face, rope in mouth, ecstatic she had won the game. 

“You ok, David?!” Patrick bent down next to him, crowding in next to Julia. 

“Yes, I’m fine, but I’m gonna win the next one!” he replied as he stood up, brushing dirt off his backside. 

“You look like you’re having fun.” Erica had returned just in time to see David fall spectacularly on his butt. 

“So much, thank you. She’s perfect.” David answered. 

“Do you have any questions about her?”

“Yes, actually.” Patrick started “I am assuming she has been vaccinated?”

“Yes of course, she has been fully vaccinated, but it will be up to you to continue her vaccinations if you decide to adopt her.”

“And she’s been checked by a vet? She’s healthy?” Patrick asked.

“Yes, all our dogs here are checked over thoroughly by a vet before they are placed up for adoption. She is the picture of perfect health.”

“Wonderful. What happens if it doesn’t work out? Do we just bring her back or…?” Patrick trailed off. 

David looked surprised “What makes you think it won’t work out?!” 

“I’m just covering all the bases,” Patrick said pragmatically. “It’s better to know all the what-ifs.” 

“Yes” Erica answered. “If things don’t work out with Julia, you are welcome to bring her back anytime. We can’t refund her adoption fee though.” 

“That’s ok. Thank you. David do you have any other questions?” 

“Just one, when can we adopt her?!” 

Erica smiled “Right now if you like.”

David beamed “C’mon Julia, ready to see your new home?” she patiently waited for the leash to be clipped back on her collar and they walked together toward the gate and back to the front entrance. 

David sat down on a hard chair in the lobby with Julia, while Patrick filled out the forms. Patrick paid the adoption fee and handed over the forms before turning around to see David with Julia in his lap, fast asleep. His heart warmed at the sight. 

“You ready?” Patrick asked.

“I don’t want to move and wake her.” 

“Should we just move in here, then?” Patrick gently teased. 

David made a face at Patrick and carefully stood up, holding Julia carefully in his arms. 

Surprisingly, she did not wake.

Patrick opened the car door for David, whose arms were still full of a sleeping Julia. 

They got settled in the car as Patrick pulled out of the parking lot. He couldn’t help but glance over at David and Julia often on the drive home.

“We definitely need to get her a sweater for winter. I’m thinking something very avant garde and definitely black and white. Do you think the Elmdale pet store will stock that?”

“I don’t like your chances David, but yes, I do like the idea of a sweater.”

David patted Julia slowly, taking her in as he went. She was the perfect size, her fur wasn’t terribly long and wouldn’t require much grooming. If it was any indication from her behaviour at the shelter, she already loved Patrick. Now David had to make sure she loved him too. 

Patrick felt a flash of inspiration “How about Jules?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Jules. As a nickname for Julia. It follows the syllable rule,” he shrugged.

“Jules” David repeated, looking down at the sleeping dog in his arms. “It’s still a homage to the great Julia Stiles, but it's our own spin on it. I like it a LOT.”

Patrick smiled “I thought so. Do you think she will learn it?” 

“Fingers crossed. I bet if we say it over and over she’ll get used to it.”

“Probably similarly to parenting.” Patrick smiled. 

“This will be the closest we get to a kid, Patrick.”

“I’m very happy with that.” Patrick leaned his arm over and patted Jules, startling her awake. 

“Patrick! What have you done!” David exclaimed. Jules sat up quickly, digging her nails into David’s legs. “Ow, first things first, you are getting a manicure young lady!”

Jules quickly put her front feet up on the car door, enjoying the view through the window. Little did she know where she was heading. 

~~~~~~~~

Patrick pulled up at home, opening the door for David as he held a very excited Jules back from running straight out the door. David handed Patrick the leash so he could get out and straighten his clothes. Jules was happily sniffing everything she could reach, getting to know every part of her new home. 

“C’mon Jules,” Patrick coaxed, “this way.”

David followed them out to the backyard, where Patrick was letting her off the leash. She happily continued her exploration of her new home. David turned to Patrick, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. This felt right. 

“Welcome to the family, Jules.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! 
> 
> I did actually read (many, many years ago) a book about owning dogs and the importance of the two syllable thing when it came to getting dogs to remember words. Whether or not it's still true I really don't know. But I (like I made David do) strangely have always remembered it, so it's now a part of my fic lol.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always greatly welcomed and appreciated!! 
> 
> Thank you


End file.
